So are the rest of us supposed to just die off or stop going to Mass? The author also has not taken certain events into account. If the US economy keeps on tanking then so will immigration. My neighbors who didn't lose their houses are actually starting to cut their own grass (they hate but they're doing it) and a number of unhappy wives have been told that they will be taking care of their own kids next year instead of the super cheap nanny. Unless things get better people will self deport or stay home.
"So are the rest of us supposed to just die off or stop going to Mass?..."
I think that's missing the point of the article. Nowhere does the author say that. I thought the article was pretty good.
There's an important shift going on right now, as significant as Irish immigration in the 19th century.
It means going after the lost sheep and it's vital for the Church that it have the tools to reach the lost Hispanic sheep.
It doesn't mean ignoring other groups like Koreans or African-Americans or Southerners for that matter. Remember, we're Catholics. We're "both/and" people.
A few of the points that stood out for me are:
-The longer Hispanics are in the U.S., the more likely they are to leave the Church.
-The more they assimilate into U.S. society, the less likely they'll be Pro-life.
-As Msgr Diaz put it, "a policy-centered parish culture can be a cultural barrier to the participation of Hispanics in the life of the Church."
I would say the last point is true for all sorts of people and not just Hispanics. To be blunt, I think it's a problem in all sorts of parishes and dioceses that ought to be fixed in order to re-evangelize Catholics and evangelize the rest of the country, or at least the parish neighborhood.
I wonder about the cultural differences. It's undoubtedly necessary to have available communication between hispanics and the Church in the U.S,, and to that end good to have allocated hispanic ministries for parishes across the country... however, I often feel that there is a great divide between the english and hispanic parishioners, mostly due to language. I wonder if the special hispanic ministries that accomodate and do not assimilate are not awkwardly contributing to hispanic discontent with the church.
Great article overall I'd say. I would also like to say that in my experience dead on target.
For the hispanic community at our parish it really is a community in the larger sense. There is a massive crowd hanging around for hours after mass. Socializing, visiting, sharing, playing, and just being a Family. I find myself jealous in fact when I compare that to the rest of the parish' get out and jump in your SUV and get out as fast as possible.
As near as I can make out, the main trouble the Hispanic Catholics are having is with the use of English in the Mass. (See Msgr. Diaz's comment in the last paragraph of the article, for instance.) If the Church had some standard language for its liturgy that transcended national barriers, then these poorest of Americans would have far less difficulty in taking their rightful place alongside their Anglo-Saxon brethren.
So, remind me: *why* are most of the American Church's social-justice crusaders either indifferent or actively hostile to the Latin Mass?
So are the rest of us supposed to just die off or stop going to Mass? The author also has not taken certain events into account. If the US economy keeps on tanking then so will immigration. My neighbors who didn't lose their houses are actually starting to cut their own grass (they hate but they're doing it) and a number of unhappy wives have been told that they will be taking care of their own kids next year instead of the super cheap nanny. Unless things get better people will self deport or stay home.
ReplyDelete"So are the rest of us supposed to just die off or stop going to Mass?..."
ReplyDeleteI think that's missing the point of the article. Nowhere does the author say that. I thought the article was pretty good.
There's an important shift going on right now, as significant as Irish immigration in the 19th century.
It means going after the lost sheep and it's vital for the Church that it have the tools to reach the lost Hispanic sheep.
It doesn't mean ignoring other groups like Koreans or African-Americans or Southerners for that matter. Remember, we're Catholics. We're "both/and" people.
A few of the points that stood out for me are:
-The longer Hispanics are in the U.S., the more likely they are to leave the Church.
-The more they assimilate into U.S. society, the less likely they'll be Pro-life.
-As Msgr Diaz put it, "a policy-centered parish culture can be a cultural barrier to the participation of Hispanics in the life of the Church."
I would say the last point is true for all sorts of people and not just Hispanics. To be blunt, I think it's a problem in all sorts of parishes and dioceses that ought to be fixed in order to re-evangelize Catholics and evangelize the rest of the country, or at least the parish neighborhood.
Try this:
ReplyDeleteThe longer Catholics are in the U.S., the more likely they are to leave the Church.
I wonder about the cultural differences. It's undoubtedly necessary to have available communication between hispanics and the Church in the U.S,, and to that end good to have allocated hispanic ministries for parishes across the country... however, I often feel that there is a great divide between the english and hispanic parishioners, mostly due to language. I wonder if the special hispanic ministries that accomodate and do not assimilate are not awkwardly contributing to hispanic discontent with the church.
ReplyDeleteGreat article overall I'd say. I would also like to say that in my experience dead on target.
ReplyDeleteFor the hispanic community at our parish it really is a community in the larger sense. There is a massive crowd hanging around for hours after mass. Socializing, visiting, sharing, playing, and just being a Family. I find myself jealous in fact when I compare that to the rest of the parish' get out and jump in your SUV and get out as fast as possible.
If what I see is the future, then I'm all for it!
As near as I can make out, the main trouble the Hispanic Catholics are having is with the use of English in the Mass. (See Msgr. Diaz's comment in the last paragraph of the article, for instance.) If the Church had some standard language for its liturgy that transcended national barriers, then these poorest of Americans would have far less difficulty in taking their rightful place alongside their Anglo-Saxon brethren.
ReplyDeleteSo, remind me: *why* are most of the American Church's social-justice crusaders either indifferent or actively hostile to the Latin Mass?